Auction strategies

[FISH4BUGS]

I am watching an auction on the GB site, and it is a gun that I really want.
With just a couple of days left, I am about to jump in, and put in a bid that is the most I want to pay.
I will assume that the bid will be sufficient to win....mainly I will overpay a bit to get the gun.....but then you never know.
In terms of strategy, should I wait until close to the end and bid up from there or just blast everyone out of the water right now and put in my maximum bid?
I will sell a couple of guns at a significant profit (I'll do that here) so I really don't mind overpaying a bit for the gun.
I am new to auctions so I really don't know the best way to proceed.
Anyone have any thoughts?

[Iron Whittler]

Gun Broker has their 15 minute rule. Read up on it. When bidding on eBay, you can wait to the last minute to bid. The last few seconds sniping is allowed. Of course ebay with their head up a lower extremity orifice doesn't allow sales of bullets, unprimed brass, primers, or powder. Very anti gun people from California. :Fire:

[lightman]

I'm also curious about this. I'm watching something on Ebay right now and I'm unsure about strategy. I don't especially trust Ebay, or GB either, but I'm thinking about taking a chance.

[Nueces]

No single auction strategy works every time, but your plan to bid the most you'll want to pay, plus some insurance, is the best overall plan in my estimation. It's what I do with my final seconds snipes on ebay. If I'm outbid, I feel relief at not paying too much.

The "Rational Man" model of economic behavior suffers from the fatal flaw that people are often irrational. Anyone who has watched contentious bidding on ebay has seen that an early bid can bring out the clowns who put in successive bids in small increments until they reach the top bid. There's no defense against aggressive silliness, but a snipe bid works against most simple silliness.

On Gun Broker, in your case, I would put my bid in just before the 15 minute window opens.

[Love Life]

I put my max bid in and wait for the email alert.

[obssd1958]

My experience with online auctions - bid as late as you are able to, without jeopardizing your chances of having your bid accepted. (I've had something go wrong with my login, in the last 10 seconds, and missed out on a once in a lifetime rifle :cry::oops: )
I firmly believe that if you put your bid in far enough ahead of time, someone will peck at it until they exceed it. If you put it in just before the last 15 minutes, you will avoid most of these, but not the determined bidder like yourself. Still your best shot, in my opinion.

[jmort]

I put in bid to put myself at the lowest winning bid and wait and see how the bidding shakes out. Sometimes that is enough, the single initial bid.
The GB 15 minute rule means that he who has the highest pain tolerance/deepest pocket will win every time. Got a Remington V3 Tac 13 recently and did not have to go beyond my initial, just enough, winning bid.

[RogerDat]

Because eBay allows last second bid and will only use as much of that bid as required to be the high bid it favors knowing your max price and Not giving other bidders a chance to think over beating it by a small amount. This I think makes a bid in last second a winning strategy.

The 15 minute rule I think helps the seller because it gives another highly motivated buyer a chance to outbid a late bid and offers the potential for a bidding war between the high bidders. Those can be emotionally driven and fiscally perilous.

You avoid that peril by doing exactly what the OP said. Knowing your max price, putting the bid in as late as possible and letting the chips fall where they will. If someone else wants it more and is willing to spend more then the item is worth more to them than it is to you. Not getting it may well be the better outcome than paying a price that is significantly higher than your calm & sober assessment of max price you are willing to pay.

There was a member here who related that during an auction of a closing chain auto parts store people bid prices up above the sticker price on the merchandise despite there still being another outlet for the same chain a few miles down the road where they could purchase as much as they wished for that lower sticker price.

Knowing what it is worth in terms of market value, then any premium you add for its value to you and having that as a set max price avoids all that foolish behavior.

[country gent]

Having been going to auctions for years, though very few online. Listen to the people at them. Its no longer I got this today, Its I won this..... Auctions have become a contest to many and most have to lose at anything. You need to keep it from becoming a contest. 1) Know what the said item sells for on the market both new and used. 2) Know how high your willing to go in aspect of items availability and new used price then stand firm on it. ( don't get caught up in the contest) 3) watch whats going on with the bidding whos bidding, hesitation, amount jumped each tme. I would place my bid as late as possible in the bidding some wont scare off but the contest will be started early.

[Handloader109]

Auctions, live or on line, bring in way more than a set price of item is desirable. Also brings out the stupid in a lot of folks. Paying 25 percent more for an item you can easily obtain is silly

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[FISH4BUGS]

Knowing what it is worth in terms of market value, then any premium you add for its value to you and having that as a set max price avoids all that foolish behavior.
I think that kind of nails it.
I, of course, will be trying to get this at the lowest price possible, but then I would have to sit there at the end of the auction and pick away at small increments and cross my fingers.
Otherwise. I bid X (and maybe a bit more for insurance) and let the chips fall where they may.
If I do that I will be paying probably a couple of hundred dollars more than retail (although condition is everything and this is a relatively scarce gun in almost pristine condition).
The only thing that eases the pain of paying more than I probably should will be the sale of a couple of collector's guns here at a profit.
Thanks to all for your thoughts.

[dverna]

Whatever "strategy" you select, there are others using it as well.

I will normally put in my comfortable maximum bid and let autobid do the work.

[FISH4BUGS]

I will normally put in my comfortable maximum bid and let autobid do the work.
That is the key....."comfortable maximum bid".
Hey...it's only money, right? :)

[Beagle333]

I like to bid later. I believe people will peck at your bid if they can see it and try to best it, even if it goes above "fair", just to try to win.

[RogerDat]

On eBay I look at sold listings. That helps me determine a range, and median price. Provides the market value. If those prices are ones I can live with I then know about what makes sense for a bid. Maybe like the OP I am willing to pay a premium because I really want this item. Or am only willing to purchase if the price is a good deal, as in paying below or near median price.

I don't buy on eBay often. When I do it is usually to purchase something I have researched and decided to buy and eBay is an option where the item is available. Possibly used instead of new to save some money.

[Shawlerbrook]

Great advice above. GB and eBay are different animals. On GB I would place my highest bid initially, to hopefully discourage bidders that think they may get a bargain. Like said above, no one strategy works 100%. On eBay I bid low early and then if necessary snipe my highest offer at the very last second. On both sites, there is usually never something that I have to have at any, inflated price.

[dragon813gt]

Ebay, I enter my max bid and walk away. If it’s something I really want and I get a notification that I’ve been outbid I reassess my bid. Regardless I enter the max I’m willing to pay and that’s it.

I’m not a fan of GB’s 15 minute rule. Gives to much time for people to keep raising their bids. This is great for the seller. But it leads to bidding wars. I know this has been mentioned above. But like eBay I enter the max I’m willing to pay and walk away.

I do look at completed auctions to see what items are currently selling for. This way I have an idea of current market value.

[762 shooter]

I like the 15 minute rule on GB. Just like a real auction where the one who wants to pay most gets it.

I will put my first max bid early to scare off bidders looking for a deal. I have decided what I am willing to pay based on availability and wantability. Usually if there is a late bidder that beats me by the minimum bid I will test him by one minimum bid to keep him honest. When you get up past $1000 bid increments go to $25.00. Make your bids minimum bid + $6 to make him bid $50+to win.

If you are bidding on a firearm that rarely comes for sale you have to factor that in.

Sometimes you eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats you.

762

[Engineer1911]

If you want this firearm, place a bid like you mean to buy. We are not your lifestyle coaches helping you get the best deal at an auction. YOUR best deal is the winning bid. If you know the firearm is worth $600, your max is $700, and the winner pays a $1,000; you did not lose an auction. You had common sense and won financially.

I have won auctions for about 10 S&W revolvers. Conventional wisdom states that I typically paid $150 to $200 too much. Now 3 years later, I can't afford (and refuse) to pay the price to acquire those same firearms. I will accept a 40% + profit when I decide to sell.

It is your money and your decision. We are just the enablers.

[FISH4BUGS]

If you want this firearm, place a bid like you mean to buy. We are not your lifestyle coaches helping you get the best deal at an auction. YOUR best deal is the winning bid. If you know the firearm is worth $600, your max is $700, and the winner pays a $1,000; you did not lose an auction. You had common sense and won financially.
I have won auctions for about 10 S&W revolvers. Conventional wisdom states that I typically paid $150 to $200 too much. Now 3 years later, I can't afford (and refuse) to pay the price to acquire those same firearms. I will accept a 40% + profit when I decide to sell.
It is your money and your decision. We are just the enablers.
Nor am I looking for lifestyle coaches. I can screw that up all by myself. :)
But your point is well taken. I also collect S&W's, Colts and early High Standards. I have bought a few over the years (only one through an auction) and could easily sell them at a profit.....not that I want to.
I usually buy in private sales.
I am ready and willing to pay a premium for this gun.....probably at least $200 ($300-400?) more than retail.
Like they say....it hurts to pay too much....but the pain DOES go away after a while.

[Shawlerbrook]

Fish as long as their isn’t another who wants this gun as much as you your all set. With GB rules you might as well just bid the $300-400 more than retail now and wait.

[jonp]

I lose online auctions all the time and the only one I was really unhappy about was for a Ruger 458 Mag rifle which went for $750 but on the upside I won a pair of 32 HR Mag pistols. I just put in the price I am willing to pay and call it a day if I don't win. I don't get into bidding wars but the downside is that i get to look at all of the auctions I've lost by $10. lol

I've been shafted by GB and don't deal with them anymore preferring GunAuction.

[Deadeye Bly]

I have both bought and sold on GB and I like the 15 minute rule as it is more like a real auction. If buying I generally watch until toward the end and then place my max bid. If you bid your max early then others will peck away at it until they find your top bid making it sell higher than it normally would have. If you have questions with the seller before the end of the auction then you should place a lower bid on the item to show them that you are a serious bidder. Set a maximum and stick to it. Sometimes you miss a few but we get over it quickly.

[wildwilly501]

Decide the max you want to pay subtract any costs from that and bid that amount.Try to stay away till its over or you will catch yourself bidding a little more and a little more.Be careful if you have any doubts about a gun contact the seller or don't bid.Don't make the mistake of assuming anything. That mark you see may be a mark or it might be a reflection.I have bought more than a few on GB I also had it put to me twice I haven't bought any for awhile there.Nothing big but the guns weren't exactly what they were supposed to be.

[Plate plinker]

I would wait until near the end to bid. Sometimes you outbid somebody and they are not able to get to the computer, but if you bid now they will get to it and bump you up.

[Petrol & Powder]

The 15 minute rule negates the effect of snipers (people who wait till the end of the auction and place winning bids at the last second)

SO, on Gun Broker, there's NO advantage to biding high early in the auction. By biding high early you may just end paying more than you needed to.

Wait till the end, place a bid if the item is still in your range and see if someone bids against you. If nobody else bids - you win. If someone else bids against you, now you must make a decision to let it go or place a higher bid.

There's not as much strategy involved in an on-line auction. You can't see your competitors, you can only see their bids.

[Shawlerbrook]

Making your highest bid early doesn’t effect what you pay unless someone bids you up to that. If the starting bid is $100 and you bid $500 and no one else bids, you won for $100.

[Petrol & Powder]

Making your highest bid early doesn’t effect what you pay unless someone bids you up to that. If the starting bid is $100 and you bid $500 and no one else bids, you won for $100.

But if someone else bids up to $500 searching for your upper limit you may end up paying more than $500 when you could have won it for less. Other bidders cannot see your maximum bid and can only deduce it when they exceed it.

[Fernando]

When I don't really care if I win or not I bid an amount that I say to myself "if they want it more than this it's theirs"
If I want something bad enough I will overpay to a point - these are the ones I'll sit to the end and do battle.
Good luck
Auctions are addicting

[GhostHawk]

I'm with plate plinker and petrol. I have won several GB auctions by slipping in a big in the last minute or 2. Yes, you do have some anxious minutes waiting for that 15 minute rule to run out.

I agree with figuring out what you are willing to spend, minus shipping, FFL fees, etc.
If you get it for less by being there when the time is right to strike that is a bonus.
But for something you really want I think it is worth it.

I have bought several from GB over the years and have no complaints at all. But you do need to read EVERYTHING carefully.

[Shawlerbrook]

I think we have proved here that each auction and the bidders involved are unique and really follow no rules. I have bought many guns and items on GB and have also ( luckily possibly) been very satisfied. I always buy guns from ffl dealers only with a long, satisfactory feedback record. I agree with the 15 minute rule, but it does take a lot of the last minute, sniping strategy out of the equation.

[owejia]

All auctions depend on how many people want the same thing. Have seen many bidding wars at live auctions and items selling in excess of being bought new. All depends on how much you want an item. If it is some thing not commonly available and you really want it just bid until you get it. It will only hurt for a short time. Every time you look at the item you will think man finally got what I wanted. Be happy, as you said it's only money and you can always make more. Saw a Doctor and an entertainment guy from the group Alabama get into a bidding war over a Romognola bull and run the bid up to over $35,000. Think it was an ego thing as to who had the deepest pockets.

[RogerDat]

Seems like folks have posted some different approaches which highlights that folks bidding for the same item will also have different approaches. Sort of like that old game Statego if your "piece" wins depends on the value of the "piece" played against it and you can't see the value of the other persons piece when you make your move.

I totally agree that posting max bid early allows a long time for folks to come along and bump until they pass it. I think early bid leaves more room for bidding war to increase price. Later bid will be exposed to outbidding for less time. I don't think either choice of early or late insures a win or guarantees paying less. I just think for every person a high bid scares away from a desirable item it allows for the possibility of someone with deeper pockets deciding to jump in. The longer that possibility exists the more likely it is to happen.

I do wonder how many people don't bid just because they know the low price currently bid won't last vs. how many do bid hoping that it will stay low?

Recent example is I was looking at MEC shotshell reloading presses on eBay. These I think are almost a commodity item, know what they are worth, what they generally sell for. See some bids that were really low with days to go on the auction. I don't bother bidding because until close to the end the sale price or price range of that specific press isn't established. I come back later close to the auction ending and it seems to me the prices are always about where you would expect them to be. I always wondered what the people bidding $20 on a reloading press were thinking. I also doubt there is much chance of getting a highly desirable or scarce firearm for a cheap price at auction. Although people do talk about the great "deals" they have gotten so...

[Petrol & Powder]

I've purchased many guns via gunbroker and I plan my bidding carefully. My calculations for the final cost include the transfer fees and shipping costs before I ever place a bid. I know what my limit is and I've let MANY guns go when the auction exceeded my limit.

Occasionally there are guns that just cannot be sourced locally and an internet retailer is a viable source for those unusual firearms. The same rules apply as always, set your max price and don't violate your own limits. However, you must be reasonable if you expect to obtain something that is a bit on the rare side. The good news is your competition is generally lower when you're chasing something that is not mainstream.

One of the strategies that does seem to work is to pick auctions that end during obscure times and dates. Most of your competition will come from within the continental U.S., so you're only dealing with 4 time zones. An auction that ends between 11:00 pm and 3 am on a Wednesday may not have as many participants at the end of that auction as one that ends between 6 -10pm on a Saturday.

I've also won a few auctions by finding a stagnant auction (very little activity) and placing a winning bid just before the end of the auction. You still need to wait out the 15 minute rule but sometimes the bid goes unnoticed by the competitors and you can win the item with a fairly low bid. This works better for guns that are not in high demand. Don't bid too much and be willing to walk away immediately if someone counters with a higher bid.

One last point - There are some unscrupulous sellers that will bid against themselves or use agents to drive the auction up. The only way to uncover those tactics is to watch a particular seller over the course of some time. If a seller shows an item as sold in one auction at a high price and then you see the same seller offer the exact same item again in the later auction - beware.
I'm not going to call anyone out here but I've seen sellers that offer the exact same item over and over and I see the exact same bidders driving the price up in each auction for the same item that lists as sold. Those aren't real bidders driving those prices up, those are agents for the seller. Once I identify one of those sellers I will never bid on their items.
Some keys to look for are: poor quality pictures so that the seller can prevent identification of the item, no serial numbers in photos, only one side of the gun shown (probably has a distinguishing mark on the other side), abnormally high sold prices on multiple items "sold" to the same bidders.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

[bedbugbilly]

An item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it on a certain day and a certain time. There is so much sniping software out there that it will only frustrate you. Bidding on on on-line auction is no different than bidding at an "in person" auction - whoever is willing to pay the highest dollar for a given item is going to win it. Unfortunately . . . too many folks get "carried away" and end up overpaying. Unless it is a "one of a kind" item, there are plenty more out there to find.

I have sold and bought for years of fleabay - some are critical of the site but with the disposal of my collection of collectible items - where else can you go and get that kind of exposure world wide? A few years ago, I had a sword I put up and I ended up having PMs on it as well as bids from all over the world - as well as those making offers if I would pull the auction and sell direct to them - which is against my policy. Sometimes folks get in to a contest to see who has the higher body content of male hormones - you get my drift - it's foolish to overpay and get in to a bidding war and pay more than an item is worth. If you see something you want - determine what you will pay and bid that amount - if you win, fine . . . if you don't, tomorrow's another day. I just remember what my Dad always said - "a fool and his money are soon departed".

[Shawlerbrook]

Great advice !!! ^^^^^^ both bedbug & P&P.

[Greg S]

Oh, the times I've had on GB bidding on auctions. I've run people up on a few items and made them pay for bidding against me, lol. The thing is to know what your price point is an stick to it. My most successful bids have been at the 15-20 minute mark for the price I'm willing to pay. If the other bidders are interested in the item and are watching, it can get interesting.

If you bid max early, it can easily get outbid during the course of a week auction and adds to the frenzy if it is a highly sought after example. I will occassionally bid an opening bid if the item is subject to be pulled in a store for a local sale and I'm going to try and buy it. I've also gone to a local store and pulled stuff off of auction.

Another problem with putting a max bid in six days out from closure is if another example comes available that is in better condition, closer, cheaper ect.

[Petrol & Powder]

The difference between an online auction and an in person auction is that you can see the actual person you are bidding against in an in person auction. It's just like playing poker, you can read the other person and base your actions on that information. You can't do that online.

Those types of auctions are different.

[jonp]

What he says !!!!

Your right. Put in what your willing to pay with including all fees, transfer costs etc and let it ride. Always remember, no manu ever made one of a particular gun. Don't lose your head. It's how I ended up with a theater popcorn machine at an auction.

[FISH4BUGS]

Well, all great advice. Thanks to all for the suggestions.
I guess the strategies are different for different folks.
I decided that since the auction ends at about 9:00 pm tonight, at about 8 pm I am going to put in my high bid. Currently the bid sits at $800 (probably about retail) and I am going to bid $1105.
Yes, I am going to pay more than it is worth (hopefully not much more), but I have wanted on of these for many years and finally after putting cash aside for buying some silver, I can take the cash and get the gun (hopefully). The gun is in probably 98/99% condition and relatively rare.
THEN, if I win the auction, I will sell a couple of guns at a profit to get my cash back then go with my original plan to buy some silver.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Now I know why I like to buy face-to-face private sale or at retail gun stores.

[PB234]

If 1105 were about it I would bid 1106.01. Never place two higher offers in advance.

[RED BEAR]

I recommend you bid right at the 15 minute mark because if you bid earlier you just give other bidders time to think and raise there bid. I have seen a lot of guns go way over what they should sell for. I have had really good success with this method. I will say when using gun broker look at a sellers feed back don't just look at the a+ rating because it seems everyone gets a+ no matter the feed back i tried to find out how a seller with over 70 bad reviews out of 400 all within last year was a+. And how they calculated that just got run around and never an answer.

[reddog81]

But if someone else bids up to $500 searching for your upper limit you may end up paying more than $500 when you could have won it for less. Other bidders cannot see your maximum bid and can only deduce it when they exceed it.

No one is going around bidding up everyone’s max bid to see what others limits are unless they have a large fortune to buy a whole bunch of guns. The person going around bidding above your highest bid is doing so because they’re willing to pay more than the current bid. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 days or 2 seconds before the auction ends. If someone is willing to pay more than you today, more likely than not they’ll still be willing to pay more than you tomorrow.

For me, patience is the best strategy. Bid your highest bid on the gun and walk away. Unless the gun is something really rare another one will come up for sale or more often than not there’s already another one being auctioned off at a later date. Don’t get hung up on buying the first one you lay your eyes one.

[nun2kute]

I for one am extremely interested in what your are bidding on, but I don't want to ruin the action for you so I will patiently wait until after the auction for you to tell us what it is.

[Shawlerbrook]

Whatever you do, let us know how it turns out, with pictures of your new gun hopefully.

[FISH4BUGS]

I for one am extremely interested in what your are bidding on, but I don't want to ruin the action for you so I will patiently wait until after the auction for you to tell us what it is.
You could water board me and I won't tell.
I will let you know if/when I win....with photos.

[RogerDat]

I agree going with an odd slightly higer price not some even common amount is a good strategy. A $1,106.54 bid would beat a bid that was a more "rounded" $1,105.00 or the $1 bump to $1,106.00 or the $1.50 bump to $1,106.50

While I agree that if someone is willing to spend more then they can buy it I think you have to consider that these other people may have already put in their own "retail + I want it premium" max price. You beating that price with only a minute or two for them to realize and then re-assess if they wish to increase their own "I want it premium" probably means at least some of those that bid above retail won't see or make a decision to counter your higher bid in time. Given more time some other bidders might decide they can go "a few dollars more".

One thing to consider however is your own willingness to go a few dollars more. You wait until the very last minute and you may find that the current winning bid is one you would be willing to go a few dollars higher to beat. However if you haven't left yourself time to assess how high your bid forces the automatic bids then you won't be able to increase your bid. I mean if $8 additional on an $1,100 gun would make it yours you might well decide to bump your own max price by that $8.

Good luck, hoping that you get you win and post pictures of the rifle happily in its new home.

[reddog81]

Getting into a last minute bidding war isn’t good for anyone but the seller.

[PB234]

Sometimes it is just fun to wear the other fellow out by increasing the bid 5 every fifteen minutes. Some folks fool around at auctions just bidding things up for the fun of it. You get a feel occasionally where the bid is going. Even more obvious on eBay. On eBay some fools place multiple bids back to back. How much dummer can people get? They go wild over buck 110$ all the time. Of. Purse you have to be willing to get stuck with it.

[FISH4BUGS]

Well guys, I lost it.....but not for trying. With 15 minutes left and the bidding at $860, I threw in my maximum bid of 1126.50. It held for a while and I even raised it to 1241.55. Whoever outbid me went to $1250. Even I said "enough"....even as much as I wanted the gun. I even went over my original maximum....but I had to exercise some self-control.
Here is the description: Offered at no Reserve is this excellent desirable Colt 3 5 7 6" heavy barrel .357 mag. DA revolver. Serial # dates gun to 1960 mfg. Features a beautiful blued finish throughout, with only some very faint muzzle wear. Additional features include grooved back strap with adjustable rear sight. Excellent original fully checked walnut service grips. Bore excellent sharp and shiny, lock up and timing Colt solid. Don't miss out on a beautiful example of a scarce Colt 357 DA revolver at no reserve. C&R eligible.
I have to say this is the best one I have seen in years. They are a pleasure to shoot and are freaky accurate.
For those that don't know, they only made some 15,000 of these and they were the direct forerunner to the Python. The 3 5 7 had all the same internals of the Python, and is built on the Python frame, but not with the fancy vent rib and high polish blue. These guns are bench rest accurate.
In a way, the Colt 3 5 7 is to the Python what the S&W Model 28 is to the Model 27. Same gun just lots of more finishing work and bluing to the Python and the 27.
I'll get another someday.....just not this one.
Let's see if I can post the photos.
234797 234798234799
Oh well....can't win 'em all.
Kinda proud of myself that I actually exercised some self-control....somebody JUST wanted in more than I did.
MANY THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR ADVICE.

[Elkins45]

I sold a preban AR lower that isn’t on the CT prohibited list, so I expected it would bring a premium. That’s why I decided to sell it.

In the last 30 minutes the price went from $600 to $800, and the winner hadn’t placed a bid on it before winning. One guy had been winning for 6+ days but was outbid in the last half hour.

[Love Life]

I’d have offered $1500 on it and kicked the losers to the curb. Actual value isn’t always a factor for me. At $1,500 you could have shot it for years, enjoyed it, and probably broke even on your estate sale, lol.

[Shawlerbrook]

No Monday morning quarterbacking here. You did your best, tip your hat to the winner and move on. I have been there before and it only stings until you find the next “ can’t live without “ gun that comes across your bow.

[Petrol & Powder]

No one is going around bidding up everyone’s max bid to see what others limits are unless they have a large fortune to buy a whole bunch of guns. The person going around bidding above your highest bid is doing so because they’re willing to pay more than the current bid. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 days or 2 seconds before the auction ends. If someone is willing to pay more than you today, more likely than not they’ll still be willing to pay more than you tomorrow.

For me, patience is the best strategy. Bid your highest bid on the gun and walk away. Unless the gun is something really rare another one will come up for sale or more often than not there’s already another one being auctioned off at a later date. Don’t get hung up on buying the first one you lay your eyes one.

I believe you misunderstood what I was saying.

Lets say you've put in a max bid of $500 but the auction is only showing $300 due to the automatic bid process. The other bidder doesn't know where that upper limit is. All he knows is that when he puts in bid of $320 the price goes to $330. (the auction site immediately increases the max bid because it's still under your $500 maximum limit). Not all auction sites have that automatic bidding feature but some do.

In that above scenario the other bidder may continue to place bids in an effort to "find" that upper limit and then abandon his efforts to purchase the item. You may ultimately end up with the item but at a higher price than necessary. Sellers like the automatic bidding feature because it tends to drive the final price up.

When you're bidding against a person and not just an automatic counter bid, you can slow down and let the other bidder "cool off" a bit instead of allowing the auction to just drive the price up. It is not an absolutely successful strategy but it is part many strategies that apply to auctions.

In a face to face auction there is no time limit or fixed length the auction will run, the bidding continues until there's a winner.
In an on-line auction, there's a time limit in which the auction will end and some sites have a 15 minute rule at the end of that time limit that is triggered by a late bid.

In an on line auction you cannot read your opponents. The only information you have about your competitors is the amount of their bid and the timing of their bid. If you place a high bid early in an effort to discourage other bidders that may not have the desired effect if that high bid isn't shown. The automatic bidding feature negates the shock effect of a high bid. Again , it all depends on how the site is set up.

[Petrol & Powder]

getting into a last minute bidding war isn’t good for anyone but the seller.

/\ agreed /\

[FISH4BUGS]

I’d have offered $1500 on it and kicked the losers to the curb. Actual value isn’t always a factor for me. At $1,500 you could have shot it for years, enjoyed it, and probably broke even on your estate sale, lol.
While I agree in principle, the gun was PROBABLY worth retail $900 tops. I had intended to keep it for the rest of my years, shoot it....and shoot it for years like you suggest.
I was willing to pay a few hundred over what I felt was top dollar, but I wasn't willing to go THAT far....but truth be known, the thought DID occur to me. I had targeted $1150 or so as max.
I had a Colt 3 5 7 at one time and it was a smooth shooting gun.
There will be others I am sure.
You must have patience, grasshopper.......:)
But good lessons are learned from this.
Kind of like a divorce....there are lessons to be learned.

[owejia]

Keep watching another one just may show up for auction. Some times people watch auction sites to value what an item is worth, hopefully some one with another Colt was watching.

[nun2kute]

I agree that would have made a very nice addition to your collection. But ... "But good lessons are learned from this." ... you cant possibly believe you lost anything with this kind of attitude. And thanks for keeping us updated.

[RogerDat]

Kudos on not losing your head and condolences on not winning the bid. It has been an interesting and informative discussion around your original question.

[FISH4BUGS]

Kudos on not losing your head and condolences on not winning the bid. It has been an interesting and informative discussion around your original question.
That is what we are here for - to learn and exchange info.
This site has been a wonderful source of information, tips and techniques.
I appreciate it enormously.
Thanks again to all.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Well guys, I lost it.....but not for trying. With 15 minutes left and the bidding at $860, I threw in my maximum bid of 1126.50. It held for a while and I even raised it to 1241.55. Whoever outbid me went to $1250. Even I said "enough"....even as much as I wanted the gun. I even went over my original maximum....but I had to exercise some self-control.
Here is the description: Offered at no Reserve is this excellent desirable Colt 3 5 7 6" heavy barrel .357 mag.

>>>SNIP
Thanks for taking us along on the ride.
for a used gun, it sure sounds minty...
I agree with your assessment that $900ish is close to retail...But dang, them Colts sure bring out the bidders now-a-days.